Deltora's Love Triangle
by Honeyblossum
Summary: Set in an alternate timeline after the events of the anime, Lief and Jasmine's relationship is tested when a third party enters, attempting to steal Jasmine's heart. What ensures is an emotional and romantic story between two beloved characters of fiction. Deltora's Love Triangle.
1. Chapter 1: Six Months On

Chapter 1: Six Months On

 **The following fanfiction is in canon with the Deltora Quest Anime series, as in Lief has blonde hair, Jasmine has a green streak through her black hair, people who should be dead in the books are not because they weren't killed off in the anime etc. The fanfiction is also set in an alternate timeline where Jasmine does not discover "Faith" and therefor does not kickstart the second quest. This is my first ever fanfiction so just keep that in mind if you choose to review. I thank you all for reading and hope you enjoy.**

 **The sun was shining** in a bright blue sky over the city of Del. Birds flew and sang beautiful tunes throughout the palace garden. All seemed to be bright and happy in the land of Deltora, all except a young girl, with piercing emerald eyes and forest green streaks through her raven coloured hair.

Jasmine was sitting in the shade of a large tree, the same tree her father and, at the time, Prince Endon used to climb. She had felt like the walls and ceiling of the palace had been closing in on her, suffocating her, so she'd fled to the garden for some fresh air and to freshen her mind.

Nobody had realised her mood had been down for the last few weeks and even with the company of the trees and animals of the garden, her mood had not improved. Kree let out a squawk and Filli nuzzled into the crook of Jasmine's neck.

"I'm fine you two. Really." She lied to them. Jasmine was quite the opposite of fine. Come the following day it would've been a whole month since she had last seen Lief.

She understood that Lief was busy. Being King wasn't easy and he'd have an endless amount of chores and jobs to do. But the fact that he couldn't make any free time to see her, hurt her in a way she'd only experienced one other time, when her parents were taken from her. Although she didn't want to admit it, not seeing Lief really hurt Jasmine in the heart.

Kree and Filli could tell what was going on with Jasmine, it was the sort of bond they had developed, being together for so many years. Kree chirped into Jasmine's ear and she sighed.

"You guys just don't understand. Lief's going to be busy for the rest of his life and if he can't see me now then…" Jasmine's voice decreased to a whisper. "Then he'll never be able to see me."

Jasmine tucked her legs up to her stomach and placed her head into her arms. She didn't want Kree or Filli to see how upset she was.

Kree however knew that Jasmine was deeply upset and chose to do something about it. Kree squawked and pecked the top of Jasmine's head until she removed it from her arms.

She looked at Kree with watery eyes and with a hint of anger. Two thin tear streaks ran down her two cheeks.

"What do you want Kree?" Jasmine asked, clearly upset but with a sharp undertone. Kree squawked loudly and franticly at Jasmine. Kree had proposed an idea that might just give her some hope. Wiping her cheeks, Jasmine got up from the tree and let out the first smile she'd had in days.

"Your right Kree. If Lief won't make time for me, I'll just have to make time for myself." She said, determined. Kree approved and flew up to Jasmine's arm. She stroked his back and thanked him for cheering her up.

With her newfound hope, Jasmine left the old tree and entered the palace, in search of King Lief.

 **Jasmine wandered the palace** halls in search of Lief. She figured he'd either be in his chambers or in the King's study. Jasmine decided to head to the study first with a spring in her step. She could imagine her sneaking in and giving Lief a big hug from behind. The look on his face would be priceless. The thought brought an even bigger smile to her face. Unfortunately that smile was not to last.

Jinks, the old palace jester, popped out from behind a corner and scared the life out of Jasmine. Her emotions went from happy, to frightened, to blinding white anger is the space of a second.

"Jinks! What the hell did you do that for?" Jasmine demanded to know, seeing red. Jinks let out a stupid giggle.

"Well you see your majesty, I couldn't help myself. The opportunity was just too good."

Blistering anger surged through Jasmine's veins.

"I told you Jinks to never-ever-call me 'your majesty'." Jasmine hissed through clenched teeth. Jasmine had never liked Jinks. He appeared to be as much of a manipulator and thief as Neridah was.

"Well my dear, as much as I don't want to admit it, you're quite right." Jinks said. Hearing Jinks say that cooled Jasmine's temper. "Especially since King Lief's gone out looking for a wife. She'll be the one who should be called 'your majesty' from now on." Jinks added. Jasmine's world came crashing down.

"Lief's looking for a wife...?" She asked quietly. Jinks smirked at Jasmine's face. He knew how she felt about Lief, almost everyone did except for Lief ironically.

"Yes he left this morning with Barda and your father also." Jinks told Jasmine, enjoying the emotional pain he was causing her.

 _Barda and Doom are with him... why wasn't I told about this... has Lief really forgotten about me?_

"Where did they go looking?" Jasmine asked, her voice and confidence shrinking by the second.

"Tora I believe." Jinks replied. "But if you don't mind me, my dear, I'll have to be going now."

Jasmine nodded and Jinks walked on past her, smiling cruelly. Jasmine remained still. Kree and Filli tried to comfort her but she didn't take any of it in.

 _A woman from Toran decent... of course she'd be from Toran decent, they always are... she's probably a well educated and well mannered nobel._

Finally Jasmine started to walk, although she didn't exactly know where, she just walked. _Could he really be looking for a wife? I guess the timing is right... Lief started the quest on his sixteenth birthday and it took us almost a whole year... it's been six months since and in another six he'll be eighteen, the right age to marry... he must be getting prepared early._

Tears once again began to form in Jasmine's eyes. She didn't want anyone to see her crying so she decided to find a secluded spot from the world. She thought about her room in the palace, but she realised she couldn't stand being in or anywhere near the palace at that moment and motioned for the palace exits.

 _Why are you crying silly girl? Did you really fool yourself into thinking that Lief felt something for you? You're just a wild girl from the forest remember... Lief has already forgotten all about you._

By the time Jasmine had exited the palace walls she had tears upon tears rolling down her face, but she knew where she wanted to go. A place where she knew that Lief could comfort her, even when he wasn't around. With that knowledge, Jasmine began to walk towards that place, feeling like her whole world had fallen on top of her shoulders.

 **Lief hadn't lived in** his fathers forge for quite sometime. A few weeks after being crowned King, he and his mother Sharn had moved into the palace, where he'd been living ever since. The forge had remained empty and unused, the perfect place for Jasmine to both hide and cry out her emotions.

Once entering inside, Jasmine found herself, almost uncontrollably, being attracted to Lief's old room. It was a peaceful room. It had Lief's bed, a desk and a shelf with a number of books, most prominently The Belt of Deltora, and Lief's toy Kin, Monty.

Jasmine entered the room and collapsed into Lief's bed. She wrapped herself in Lief's bed covers and just laid there. The bed was so soft, although since Jasmine had never slept in a bed for the first sixteen years of her life, she was finding any sort of cushioning soft. The covers also smelt of Lief's scent. The scent brought back memories of their quest, back when on some nights she was forced to sleep by him in case of a surprise attack or for warmth.

 _Back when Lief actually cared about me._ The memories triggered a new flow of tears and Jasmine gave into them, weeping into Lief's soft bed.

 **Jasmine wasn't sure how** much time had passed. She wasn't sure if she had fallen asleep or had just cried and cried until she couldn't anymore. However much time had passed, she knew it was time she got back to the palace. Kree and Filli had been smart enough to know to leave Jasmine alone during her emotional outburst and had instead fallen asleep on Lief's desk. Jasmine woke both of them up before leaving Leif's room. Outside the sun was a deep orange and was starting to set, Jasmine assumed she must've fallen asleep.

As Jasmine walked by the forge she noticed something shining. Deciding to investigate she walked into the forge to check it out. She immediately regretted her decision.

The object that shined in the dying light was one of many objects. Gems. _Lief must've been here making jewellery for his proposal to one of the Toran women... the same way he made my necklace for me._ Jasmine looked down at the necklace Lief had made her the day he was crowned King. She'd never taken it off, except for when she bathed.

Jasmine felt a new wave of tears coming, but not wanting to be at the forge or the palace she had no idea where to go.

Jasmine began to walk away from the forge when she saw something that stopped her in her tracks. Gone was the feeling to cry. It had been replaced by the feeling of needing to be aware. Her senses pricked up as she looked at the person who was walking by on the road.

It was someone Jasmine had not seen in a very long time. Someone who she had once thought cared for her but really this person had manipulated her to gain her trust. Someone who had betrayed her, Lief and the rest of her friends. Someone who was supposed to be dead.

 _That can't be him... Lief said he had killed him._ The man had stopped walking to look at Jasmine, who was staring back at him. Jasmine unsheathed her dagger and held it out to the man.

"How the hell are you alive?" She shouted out to the man. "How the hell are you alive Dain?"

 **So that is the end of my first chapter, of my first ever fanfiction. I realise some things don't add up, such as the appearance of Dain and Jasmine's over emotional personality. However like I said at the beginning, this is an alternate timeline and some things will be different but I'll explain those differences and other bits of information in these short author's notes. For this one I'd just like to thank you for reading my chapter and to let you know that there is no set schedule for when I upload chapters, it'll just be when they happen as they happen. However I promise they'll be of the best quality I can produce. Review the chapter if you wish, I'm not fussy if you do or don't and once again thank you so much for reading. I'll see you all for Chapter 2!**


	2. Chapter 2: Nathaniel

Chapter 2: Nathaniel

 **Here is Chapter 2! Something I would like to say in this little Author's note is that during this story I will be including sexually related scenes, hence why I've given this story a M rating. Personally I feel that the characters are at an age where if relationships advanced enough these acts would eventually occur. For those of you that dislike this, I can understand where your coming from and will provide a warning at the beginning of any chapter that contains sexual references and acts. Also for those of you that dislike this but decide to read anyway I would like to promise you that I will give these characters the full respect they deserve. These characters and their stories were part of my childhood and I definitely don't want to see them depicted in pornographic scenarios. But anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy Chapter 2!**

 **The man thought to** be Dain stared at Jasmine's dagger in fright. After some time of him just staring, Jasmine started to get annoyed.

"I asked you a question Dain, or did Lief only kill your hearing?" She sniped. Finally the man began to show some signs of acknowledgment. He turned to face Jasmine and took a step towards her.

Jasmine made her dagger more prominent, freezing the man in his tracks. Again. "Don't take another step Dain." She warned.

"But... my name isn't Dain." The man replied, finally. Jasmine scoffed, insulted by this Ol's attempt to fool her.

"Listen here, 'not Dain', I may be wild but I'm not stupid." Jasmine told the man. "Now I won't ask again, how did you survive Lief's attack?"

"And I won't tell you again, my name isn't Dain." The man responded, confidently. Jasmine considered what the man had said before continuing her interrogation.

"Well you certainly look and sound like Dain, meaning you must be some form of Ol."

When the man heard what Jasmine had said he let out a long laugh. Jasmine's temper returned, worst than ever. "What so funny!?" She demanded.

The man finished laughing and, seeing Jasmine in such a furious state took pity on her.

"I can't be an Ol because they were banished from Deltora once King Lief was crowned as King. Any Ol who dares step foot into Deltora now will turn into a pile of ash in a blink of an eye." The man explained.

Jasmine thought about what the man had said. It was true that even after Lief had put on the belt, the Ols present in Deltora didn't vanish until Lief was properly crowned.

"If you still don't believe me, let me take you to the small hut I've been living in for the last year. It's just on the outskirts of Del."

Jasmine considered this before placing her dagger back into it's hilt and nodded at the man. The man smiled in return and began to lead the way. While the man wasn't looking, Jasmine placed her lips close to Kree's ear.

"Kree, I want you to fly ahead, just in case this guy still ends up being trouble." She whispered. Kree squawked in acknowledgement and took off to the sky. Jasmine then began to follow the man, at a safe distance, towards his so called hut.

 **By the time Jasmine** and the man reached his hut, there was almost no light left in the sky. The man stopped outside his door and turned around to look at Jasmine.

"Home, sweet, home." He chimed. Jasmine stubbornly ignored him and continued on inside.

The hut wasn't very much, it only had a kitchen, dining area and two doors which appeared to lead into a bathroom and bedroom. "Do you believe I'm not an Ol now?" The man asked. Jasmine reluctantly nodded her head.

"It still doesn't explain why you look like the one I know." She added, sharply.

"I'm not sure either, but maybe I can tell you a bit about myself." The man suggested. Jasmine rolled her eyes.

"Go ahead." She said, exasperatedly. The man walked over to his dining table and took a seat. He offered another one to Jasmine who decided to take it.

"My name isn't Dain but Nathaniel." He began. "I am from Toran decent, as you can probably tell from the blue hair, but very early in my life my parents decided to leave the boundaries of Tora and experience the rest of Deltora."

 _Yes, that does explain his looks, but not how he ended up here._ Jasmine continued to stare at Nathaniel, expecting him to continue.

"Once the Shadow Lord took over Deltora, my parents chose to never return to Tora, due to the broken oath the Toran's had committed." Nathaniel paused. He lifted his gaze from Jasmine and bowed his head to the floor. Jasmine's temper began to ease and she surprisingly started to feel sorry for him.

"However, the broken oath managed to get my parents in another way. One night, the village we were staying in was raided by pirates. I was very young and couldn't do much. My father told me to hide from them so I did." Nathaniel's voice softened as he recounted his awful memory. "My parents were killed that night. Ever since I've been looking out for myself more or less."

 _Wow... his parents were taken from him when he was young also... he too had to grow up by himself... just like me._ Nathaniel continued his life's story.

"Six months before the end of the Shadow Lord's tyranny I decided to move to Del because I thought it'd be a safer place to live, but how wrong I was." Nathaniel finished.

He moved his gaze back to Jasmine, the anger she had felt before had completely drained from her system. Now she only felt sympathy for Nathaniel.

"I'm so sorry Nathaniel. It's just you looked exactly like the Ol that betrayed us, I should of never assumed you were him or another Ol." Jasmine apologised. Nathaniel shrugged and a small smile returned to his face.

"It's ok. Maybe this Dain Ol or whatever he was, saw me as a perfect person to copy. I did live in Ol territory for almost all my life." Nathaniel reasoned.

"Yeah. Maybe." Jasmine agreed.

Silence between the two of them was broken by Kree's squawking. "Yes Kree I understand." Jasmine acknowledged.

"You can speak to birds?" Nathaniel asked, bewildered.

"Not just birds, other animals too. And trees." Jasmine explained.

"That's pretty cool you know." Nathaniel told her.

Jasmine felt a rush of heat flow to her face and turned away just in time to hide her blush. _Why are you blushing? It was only a compliment._

"So what did, Kree, have to say?" Nathaniel asked. Jasmine looked back at him and quickly answered.

"Oh he was just letting me know that I should be going, seeing as it's already quite late." A mixture of sadness and disappointment fell across Nathaniel's face.

"Oh. Ok." He said.

"Yeah." Jasmine replied. For some strange reason, Jasmine didn't fell like leaving. But she had to, Lady Sharn and the palace guards would be starting to get worried. "Well, it was really nice meeting you Nathaniel." Jasmine said, getting up and motioning towards the door. Just as she was about to leave Nathaniel called out to her.

"Wait Jasmine!" He called. Jasmine stopped in her tracks and turned back to him. "Would you like to meet up tomorrow?" He asked. Jasmine's mouth fell open, shocked.

"You want to meet?" She asked back. A blush ran across Nathaniel's face and he scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Yeah. I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go down to the Del beach with me. You see since moving here I haven't really made any friends. Your the first person I've talked too in a long time." Nathaniel explained.

Jasmine took in this information and thought about her response. _Go down to the beach with him? I guess it wouldn't be that bad of a thing, after all it's the least I can do after accusing him of being an Ol._

Jasmine began to answer but Nathaniel, trying to cover his tracks, told her she didn't have to if she didn't want to.

"No no Nathaniel. I'd be happy to go to the beach with you tomorrow." She reassured him, smiling. A large smile appeared on Nathaniel's face.

"Great. How about midday?" He asked.

"Sounds good to me." Jasmine agreed. Nathaniel nodded.

"I'll see you there then." He said. "Good bye, Jasmine." He added.

"Good bye, Nathaniel." Jasmine replied before Nathaniel's happy face disappeared behind his closed door.

Jasmine didn't know how or why but she felt so much happier than she had at the start of the day, but she just did.

"C'mon Kree. Let's get back to the palace." She said before beginning her walk.

 **Lady Sharn was pacing** inside the great hall of the palace. She was worried about Jasmine, who hadn't returned from her journey during the day. She didn't like the fact that Jinks was the last person who had seen her, as he wasn't being very forthcoming with details.

 _You should've been back hours ago Jasmine. Oh please be okay._ As if her thoughts were a silent wish, Jasmine entered the great hall.

"Jasmine you're alright." Sharn exclaimed, running up to Jasmine and giving her a hug.

"Yes Lady Sharn, I'm fine. I just lost track of time that's all." Jasmine explained.

"As long as your safe darling." Sharn told her. Jasmine nodded in agreement. Before Jasmine could walk off to her room, Sharn began to tell her of some news. "I have received a note from Lief, asking me to tell you he'd like to meet tomorrow."

 _What? Lief wants to meet me tomorrow? Maybe he hasn't forgotten about me after all!_ Jasmine squealed with joy, on the inside.

"What time does he want to meet?" Jasmine asked.

"Midday." Sharn replied. Once again, Jasmine's mood dropped from high to low. _Midday? Of all times he wants to meet at midday!?_

Jasmine sighed. She'd said she was going to see Nathaniel at midday, and she wasn't going to break that plan.

"I'm sorry Lady Sharn but you'll have to inform Lief that I'm unavailable at that time." Jasmine stated sternly. Sharn looked a little shocked at what Jasmine had told her.

"May I ask what is it you're doing at midday tomorrow?" Sharn asked.

"I'm going down to the Del beaches with someone I met in the city today." Jasmine replied and to avoid further questions, turned around and hastily exited the great hall to find her room.

Sharn remained in the great hall, rooted to the spot. She couldn't believe what Jasmine had said. Afterwards however she let out a warm smile to no one in particular. _Jasmine has made a new friend in the city. That's so good to hear, although I'm not sure how Lief will react to this._

No longer requiring to wait for Jasmine to return, Sharn exited the great hall in search of her own room for rest.

 **Jasmine lay awake, on** her bed, in her room. She couldn't stop running the events of the day through her head. First finding out about Lief's search for a bride, then all the awful crying, meeting Nathaniel and assuming he was Dain and then learning that Lief finally wanted to meet with her.

The one thing she really couldn't stop thinking about though was the feelings she had when she was with Nathaniel. She couldn't explain it but it was almost as if she was attracted to him. But that was impossible as she'd only just met the guy.

"Maybe it's because of the preexisting feelings I had for Dain." She said out loud to no one in particular. "Yeah that must be the reason." She concluded.

But what about the way he thought about her. She'd noticed his nervous behaviour, red hot blush and the fact his big, purple eyes wouldn't leave hers alone.

 _Does Nathaniel maybe feel something for me...? Nah I'm just overlooking things, I'm a wild girl remember._ Satisfied and having done enough thinking for the night, Jasmine rolled over, said her goodnights to Kree and Filli and fell into a peaceful sleep.

 **That's the end of Chapter 2, I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to leave a review if you wish, like I said I don't mind whether you do or don't. Thank you for reading and I'll see you all for Chapter 3!**


	3. Chapter 3: Swimming

Chapter 3: Swimming

 **Chapter 3 had arrived! Let's just get straight into it.**

 **Rays of sunlight streamed** through the curtains of Jasmine's room, illuminating her slender figure hidden by the covers. Filli was the first to wake of the three, shortly followed by Kree. Jasmine was still peacefully asleep and Kree wanted to wake her up. Filli on the other hand didn't and an argument between the two animals erupted.

Kree and Filli both launched at each other, knocking into things and bumping others. Little did they know however that in their effort to determine whose decision was better, they had unintentionally woken the third person in the room. They continued fighting until they noticed the pair of emerald eyes watching them.

"I see you two have gotten an early start to the morning." Jasmine giggled. Filli and Kree both began to try apologise for their argument but Jasmine told them both to relax as she had to get up anyway. "I'm seeing that man Nathaniel today, I need to get ready." She told them.

 _And maybe I'll get to see Lief in the evening..._ She shook her head at her thought, she didn't want to get her hopes up.

 **After getting out of** bed, Jasmine, Kree and Filli headed down to the kitchen for breakfast. Walking down there, Jasmine had realised she'd missed yesterday's lunch and dinner. She was so hungry she could've eaten an entire muddlet.

After eating the most she'd ever eaten in the palace kitchen, Jasmine walked back up to the second floor of the palace and into the wash room. Inside, Jasmine walked over to a tub and began to fill it up with warm water.

Once full Jasmine looked over at Kree and nodded. "Kree, you know where to go." She told him. Kree nodded and exited the wash room to return and wait for Jasmine in her room. Whenever Jasmine had bathed in the forest, Kree had always waited for her back at their home, as even though he was a bird, it was considered inappropriate for boys to watch girls bathe.

With no one else in the room, other than Filli who was allowed, Jasmine stripped off her clothing in preparation for her bath. The last thing she had to remove was Lief's necklace from around her neck. She put her hair up and placed her hands on the clasp of the necklace behind her neck. Before she could remove it, something deep down inside her told her to leave it on this one time. Choosing to follow that something, Jasmine left the necklace hanging around her neck and stepped into the bath.

Jasmine let out a long, breathe as she relaxed in the tub. The warm water soothed her significantly and calmed her nerves.

"I honestly don't understand why I feel so nervous about seeing this man." Jasmine said out loud to no one in particular. "I haven't been this nervous since I was hit by that poisoned tipped arrow, back when we were trying to rid Dread Mountain of Gellick." Jasmine said, this time, directing the comment to Filli.

Filli let out a small squeak. Jasmine smiled at Filli. "Yeah you're right, I should start washing up."

After cleaning herself up, Jasmine drained the tub, dried herself, and walked back to her room with a towel covering herself.

Kree greeted Jasmine with a happy squawk and she returned the greeting by stroking Kree's feathers. "Yes Kree, you're a good boy for guarding the room." Jasmine said, smiling.

She then turned to her dressing table and looked in the mirror. Her green and black hair was it's usual messy self, but today she wanted it to look neat.

Using a brush, Jasmine brushed her hair out, until it was nice and straight, it's length reaching down to her lower back. Next, she walked to her closet to find something pleasant to wear. Jasmine settled on a green top and skirt, along with the red stockings she wore everywhere.

 _Lief always says this colour of green brings out my eyes. Hopefully Nathaniel thinks that too._ Looking at herself in the mirror, Jasmine was happy with how she looked, as happy as she could be compared to the wild girl she'd looked like the first seventeen years of her life.

Jasmine was thrown out of her thoughts when the palace clock struck eleven times. "Time to go I guess." She announced out loud. Jasmine began to make her way to the door, with Kree and Filli following. She turned around with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry guys but I think I'm going to go by myself." She told Kree and Filli.

Kree and Filli both protested their disagreement loudly. "I'm sorry guys. Maybe next time ok?" Jasmine said before leaving the room and Kree and Filli behind.

 _Did I really just say next time...? Why did I say that? There isn't going to be a next time. This is just a one time thing... right?_ Jasmine jogged down the stairs, taking two at a time and walked out the front of the palace.

She didn't notice Lady Sharn watch her leave, nor the look she had on her face.

 **Nathaniel had decided to** get to the beach early. He sat on the golden sand and watched the ocean's waves roll in and out. He couldn't wait until Jasmine arrived. Nathaniel thought about how gorgeous Jasmine was. Her slender figure, tanned complexion, long legs, piercing emerald eyes and long beautiful raven hair, with its streak of forest green. The truth was Nathaniel had found himself smitten with Jasmine. What he couldn't work out was if it was because of Jasmine herself, or if because, like Jasmine had noticed him for looking like someone else, he also had noticed her for looking like someone else.

Nathaniel shook his head. That person he knew was gone and never coming back.

Wanting his mind to wander back to Jasmine, Nathaniel once again turned his attention to the waves and smiled.

 **It had taken Jasmine** almost an hour to reach the beach but she was finally here. Now she was here however, she found herself the most nervous she'd ever been.

 _C'mon silly girl. You've done tougher things than meet up with a guy. Just relax and be natural._ Swallowing her fear, Jasmine exited the last of the forest and entered the beginning of the sand.

It didn't take her long to notice Nathaniel's blue hair flowing in the sea breeze. The sight brought a large smile to Jasmine's face.

"Hey!" Jasmine yelled out friendly and waved. Nathaniel turned around where he too received a large smile at the sight of Jasmine.

"Hey yourself." He said once Jasmine had reached him. "How was your evening last night?" Nathaniel asked.

"It was good. I slept like a baby." Jasmine replied. "How was your evening?"

"I didn't get much sleep." He answered.

"Oh. Why?" Asked Jasmine, concerned.

"I couldn't stop thinking about today and seeing you again." Nathaniel said. He turned his face down and looked at the sand, failing to hide his blush from Jasmine. Jasmine smiled and took pity on him, leaning in to whisper in his ear.

"I couldn't stop thinking about it either." She whispered. Nathaniel looked back at Jasmine and smiled, mostly in relief but also because of her. To him, it felt as if she had so much beauty it was radiating off of her.

"Jasmine, you look lovely in this green outfit." Nathaniel told her. "It really brings out your emerald eyes." He added. This time it was Jasmine's turn to blush.

 _You honestly don't know how much it means to me that you said that._

"Thanks Nathaniel." Jasmine replied, before letting out another megawatt smile. Nathaniel smiled back before showing a look of concern.

"I can't help but notice your two companions are not with you." He stated.

"Oh I asked Kree and Filli to stay behind." Jasmine answered.

"Why?" Nathaniel asked. Jasmine looked down into her hands before answering Nathaniel.

"I thought it'd be nicer if it was just you and me." She said quietly. Nathaniel grabbed both her hands, guiding her eyes to look into his.

"Sounds good to me Jasmine." He told her sincerely.

"Ok." Jasmine giggled and let out a shy smile. Nathaniel nodded before standing up and removing his garments.

"Um, what are you doing?" Jasmine asked concerned. Nathaniel looked back confused.

"Well we can't go swimming in our clothes." He said.

Jasmine's eyes widened in horror as she looked from Nathaniel, to the sandy ground, to the blue ocean and back to Nathaniel. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I... I can't swim." Jasmine stuttered, terrified of the thought.

"Oh." Nathaniel said.

"I'm sorry." Jasmine said, upset. Jasmine looked over at Nathaniel and to her surprise, Nathaniel was smiling gleefully. "What?" She asked.

"It looks like I'm going to have to teach you. If you trust me enough." He replied.

 _Teach me to swim? Do I trust him?_ Jasmine looked over at Nathaniel's charming face. _Yes, I suppose I do trust him._

"Ok. Let's see how good of an teacher you are." Jasmine said.

"Great. I'll let you get changed into your bathers first." Nathaniel said. Jasmine took in what he said and produced a confused look. "You don't have bathers, do you?" Nathaniel asked, although he'd already assumed the answer was no. Jasmine confirmed his assumption when she shook her head. "Alright. I guess we're both going in with our clothes on." Nathaniel said.

Before Jasmine could realise it, Nathaniel had grabbed her by the hand and pulled her up into his arms. There, she was helpless as Nathaniel carried her down to the ocean.

 _Oh my... I know I'm light but he's carrying me like I'm just a twig._

Nathaniel reached the ocean and began to wade in, splashing water up onto Jasmine. She squealed when the cold water hit her. Once he was up to his waist, Nathaniel stopped and look down at Jasmine with a playful smile.

"On three." He said. Jasmine tried to think what he meant.

"One." Jasmine now understood what he meant.

"Two!"

"Oh no no. Nathaniel don't do it."

"THREE!"

"Nathaniel NOO-" Jasmine tried to scream but it was too late. Nathaniel tossed Jasmine and she landed in the water below.

Freezing cold, salty water soaked Jasmine to the bone and filled her mouth and nostrils. When she resurfaced Nathaniel was laughing at her as she coughed and spluttered.

Once she'd regained her composure she gave Nathaniel the worst death stare she could muster. Nathaniel smiled back at her, causing her stare to melt away, a smile replacing it.

"C'mon. That's go a little deeper." Nathaniel said. Jasmine looked at the wide, deep ocean fearfully. Nathaniel saw this and grabbed her hand reassuringly.

"It's ok. I'm here. I'll always be here for you." He said, and Jasmine believed him.

 **Cold and soaking wet,** Jasmine and Nathaniel collapsed onto the warm sand of Del Beach. Jasmine had enjoyed herself immensely. Not only had she had fun in the water, but with Nathaniel's help, she'd even managed to doggy paddle, the first step to being able to swim.

"Thank you for today Nathaniel." Jasmine said, rolling over to look at him.

"No problem. I'd happily do it again any time." He replied, rolling over to look back at her. "You know Jasmine. I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

"Really?" Jasmine asked.

"Yeah." Nathaniel confirmed.

Before either of them knew it, Nathaniel had moved in closer and placed his lips against Jasmine's. Jasmine was shocked, but then she did something she never thought she would. Jasmine closed her eyes and leaned into Nathaniel, kissing him back just as passionately as he was kissing her.

 **That's all for Chapter 3. Thank you all for reading, leave a review if you wish and I'll see you all for Chapter 4!**


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